LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Wednesday directed the federal government to allow PTI’s former leader Usman Dar and his family to visit Saudi Arabia for Umrah.

Justice Shams Mahmood Mirza allowed a petition of Dar seeking removal of his name from the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL).

The judge observed that the continued inclusion of the petitioner’s name in the PNIL was without lawful authority and of no legal effect.

Dar’s counsel Abuzar Salman Niazi argued that the petitioner wanted to perform Umrah during Ramazan but the FIA unlawfully put a travel ban on him.

He said the agency claimed to have included the name of the petitioner in the PNIL on the recommendation of the Punjab Police. He pointed out that the name of the petitioner was placed in the list on May 26, 2023.

He asked the court to order removal of the petitioner’s name from the PNIL and restrain the FIA from causing any hindrance in his travel to Saudi Arabia.

Assistant Attorney General Sheraz Zaka stated that a person can be placed in the PNIL for 30 days and the petitioner had been wrongly kept by the FIA in this list for the last 10 months without giving an opportunity of hearing.

The lawyers for the FIA and the Punjab Police said the petitioner cannot be allowed to proceed abroad as he was nominated in various FIRs.

The judge ordered the government to allow the petitioner and his family members to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah subject to furnishing surety bonds of Rs1 million to the FIA.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2024